Buzz Track: Pretty Pretty

Check out the track Pretty Pretty by Lauran Irion which was produced by Matthew Hagar (Duran Duran, Mandy Moore). Lauren is the star of ABC’s show GCB with Kristen Chenoweth, Annie Potts and Leslie Bibb as well as the recurring guest star on Disney’s “I’m In The Band” and ABC Family’s “Melissa And Joey”. She has opened for Lifehouse as well as Ryan Star and a new EP will be released in May.

Contact: Matthew@76steps.com

Update/News: Erin Martin is currently battling it out on NBC’s The Voice. The performance can be seen here.

Buzz Track: Come Together

Erin Martin, a Kings favorite falls between Amy Winehouse and Nelly Furtado. Martin has performed at Chicago’s Summerfest and Lollapalooza, opened for De La Soul and “American Idol” finalist Amanda Overymeyer, and was featured on the Roy Davis Jr. track “I Have a Vision,” which reached No. 3 on the UK dance charts.

Contact: roger@kmamanagement.com

Lionel Richie, sold 200,000 copies of his “Tuskegee” album, his best debut in 20 years. Madonna‘s “MDNA” album is expected be the number 1 album in the country this week – the final numbers will come in later today. Unlike Lionel Richie, Madonna will bundle album with ticket sales to lock down the number 1 spot.

It turns out that a hefty number of “MDNA” albums weren’t sold the usual way. Madonna’s label, Interscope, and Live Nation, which owns Ticketmaster, bundled the album with her ticket sales. For every ticket sold online to Madonna’s upcoming shows, purchasers automatically receive a copy of “MDNA.” They get a link to a free purchase on ITunes, or they can send in their mailing address for a physical CD. It doesn’t matter if the concert ticket is $52 or $350. It’s a smart marketing move for Interscope. It unnaturally inflates sales, and uses “MDNA” for what albums have become–souvenirs, or loss leaders. (Forbes)

Is it fair to artists on the chart who didn’t “bundle”?

Last year, retailers and others objected when amazon.com did a 99 cent promotion with Lady Gaga for her “Born this Way” album. But Interscope (again Interscope) sold their bulk of CDs in first two weeks. The amazon promotion inflated Gaga’s sales by 440,000 copies to 1.1 million. And then sales tapered off. The Richie album, by the way, is “hot.” So the real test will be whether “MDNA” has legs beyond the promotion.

Buzz Track: Doses

Makari released an EP titled “The Escape” which was recorded with Jason Andrews in Atlanta, GA. The second single titled “Doses” was just released was recorded with Brooks Paschal (Paramore, Panic At The Disco, Versa Emerge, There For Tomorrow). They were featured as an unsigned artist of the month in Alternative Press and they will perform the Florida Music Fest in Orlando, FL on April 19th.

Contact: makariband@gmail.com

Lexie Hofer – Love Sick
Act As If – Walk Out On Me
Super Water Sympathy – Cherokee
The Rassle – 21
Mikey Wax – Counting On You
Kill The Drive – Monsters in My Bed
Antonia Vai – Moth to a Flame
Ready Goes – Famous